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Simplified approach to the management of patients with an acute coronary syndrome

A simplified approach to the management of patients with an acute coronary syndrome (chest pain at rest or with mild exertion) can help ensure that precise risk-reducing strategies are followed to the letter by doctors and other caregivers of patients with this medical condition, according to a study by Johns Hopkins researchers.

19 Jan 2005

World-first advertising campaign warns women about the health impacts, and ineffectiveness, of fad diets

A world-first advertising campaign that warns women about the health impacts, and ineffectiveness, of fad diets has been launched by the Australian Health Minister, Bronwyn Pike.

18 Jan 2005

Animal study on vascular effects of COX-2 inhibition

In an article by Egan et al, titled, "Cyclooxygenases, Thromboxane, and Atherosclerosis," published in the Jan 17 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association researchers examined some of the molecular mechanisms of drugs affecting prostaglandin and thromboxane production.

17 Jan 2005

Research leads to new antiangiogenic drugs

Scientists have uncovered critical information that may lead to an urgently needed method for effective monitoring of antiangiogenic cancer therapies.

17 Jan 2005

Measures to improve the drug side effect reporting system - the Yellow Card Scheme

Patients and researchers will be able to look at data on the safety of different medicines announced Health Minister, Lord Warner today. The move is part of a series of measures to further improve the drug side effect reporting system - the Yellow Card Scheme, which is used by the medicines watchdog (MHRA) to monitor the safety of medicines in the UK.

17 Jan 2005

No to over the counter statin!

Last Friday an FDA expert panel voted overwhelmingly against the over-the-counter sale of Merck's cholesterol lowering drug Mevacor (lovastatin). Mevacor is one of a number of drugs known as "statins" which are widely considered to be the most effective drugs for the treatment of high cholesterol. Statins work by inhibiting a liver enzyme used in the manufacture of cholesterol.

17 Jan 2005

Home HIV-AIDS test could be a reality within two years

A portable device similar to a home pregnancy test that can quickly detect the presence of infectious diseases, including HIV-AIDS and measles as well as biological agents such as Ricin and anthrax, is the goal of a new joint research project

17 Jan 2005

Lifting weights can help people with multiple sclerosis

Lifting weights can improve muscle strength and quality of life for people afflicted with the degenerative disease multiple sclerosis, a new University of Florida study finds.

17 Jan 2005

More data needed on what's effective for hot flashes

A University of Michigan expert on menopause says a new study that indicates placebos work as well as antidepressant drugs to help hot flashes shows how much more research is needed about what gives patients relief.

17 Jan 2005

Researchers attack cervical cancer

As more and more promising results of clinical trials on vaccination against human papillomaviruses are published, the more likely it becomes that an HPV vaccine will be the first licensed immunization against a sexually transmitted disease.

17 Jan 2005

Anti-seizure drugs slow aging in roundworms

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered that a class of anti-seizure medications slows the rate of aging in roundworms. The worms, when exposed to drugs used to treat epilepsy in humans, lived longer and retained youthful functions longer than normal.

17 Jan 2005

Researchers have identified the cellular receptor for the JC virus

Researchers funded in part by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) have identified the cellular receptor for the JC virus, which causes the fatal neurological disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).

17 Jan 2005

Scientists are a step closer to developing drug targets to treat fungal meningitis

Scientists are a step closer to developing drug targets to treat fungal meningitis -- the infection linked to at least three deaths on Vancouver Island -- thanks to the sequencing of two Cryptococcus genomes by an international team that included researchers at the University of British Columbia and the BC Cancer Agency's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre in Vancouver.

17 Jan 2005

Committees will weigh up COX-2 benefits and risks

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a joint public meeting of the agency's Arthritis Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee to be held February 16, 17 and 18, 2005.

16 Jan 2005

How do you remember your own name?

How do you remember your own name? Is it possible ever to forget it? The memory trace, or engram, "feels" like it is stored permanently in the brain and it will never be forgotten.

16 Jan 2005

Discovery offers promise for treatment of age-related hearing loss

Researchers have discovered that deletion of a specific gene permits the proliferation of new hair cells in the cochlea of the inner ear -- a finding that offers promise for treatment of age-related hearing loss. This type of hearing loss is caused by aging, disease, certain drugs, and the cacophony of modern life. It is the most common cause of hearing loss in older people.

13 Jan 2005

Researchers shed new light on the development of cancers, particularly breast and prostate cancer

Researchers at Brown Medical School and Rhode Island Hospital have shed new light on the activation of a protein key to the development of cancers, particularly breast and prostate cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States.

13 Jan 2005

New figures highlight trends in drug and alcohol misuse

New figures published by Dr Foster* in this week's BMJ outline drug and alcohol related harm in the population of England.

13 Jan 2005

Evaluation of BAY 43-9006 (Sorafenib) for pancreatic cancer

Oncologists from USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center are running tests on a new pancreatic cancer drug that targets the cancer from two directions.

13 Jan 2005

Alternative therapies and conventional medical therapies should be held to same standards

Stating that health care should strive to be both comprehensive and evidence-based, a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies calls for conventional medical treatments and complementary and alternative treatments to be held to the same standards for demonstrating clinical effectiveness.

13 Jan 2005